I’d have to say that 1987 was one of my favorite years to be a young movie fan. Because we didn’t have a ton of money, my mom and I would spend most of our weekends at the drive-in taking in double features of all kinds of now-classic films, which included John McTiernan’s eternally badass Predator.
Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, Jesse Ventura, Bill Duke, Shane Black, Sonny Landham and Kevin Peter Hall as the titular intergalactic hunter, Predator opened at number one the weekend of June 12th despite receiving a lackluster response from critics at the time. Predator’s theatrical success would continue for another six weeks, with McTiernan’s genre-bending blockbuster eventually taking in almost $60 million during its run that summer.
Predator’s run wouldn’t end there though- there was also the release of the successful 1990 sequel Predator 2 starring Danny Glover and Gary Busey, two Alien vs. Predator films that would come about some 17 years later, Predators in 2010, and an almost endless amount of comics, toys, artwork, merchandise and memorabilia that has continuously infected pop culture ever since McTiernan’s original came out some 27 years ago now.
I recently had the distinct pleasure of chatting with Predator co-star Carl Weathers about his experiences working on the film, which also coincidentally helped the veteran actor transition from his work on the Rocky films towards more action-oriented projects. Weathers said, “It wasn’t really a conscientious decision to move away from the Apollo (Creed) persona or anything, I was just ready to mix things up in my career. Plus it was a good role and John (McTiernan) was a great director, so it seemed like it was going to be a great film to be a part of. I don’t know if any of us knew just how much impact the film would go on to have after we made it, but it definitely helped people see me in a different light so I think that was a huge influence on my career at the time.”
In Predator, we learn that Weathers’ character Dillon betrays his fellow team members on their dangerous mission in Central America when their true agenda is revealed. For Weathers, he enjoyed the fact that Dillon wasn’t another “hero” but someone who is motivated by his own over-ambitiousness to please his bosses back in the States.
“Not unlike any other working actor, I always tend to enjoy playing the characters who have more ambivalence towards their morals (laughs) because they are more fun,” explained Weathers. “But overall, I just look for interesting characters that feel more real, more human. I don’t see them ever as bad or good and I don’t necessarily believe that Dillon was a villain in Predator either. He was opportunistic and ambitious and a patriot, which meant that he had his own allegiances going into the mission. Did he make the right decisions? It’s hard to tell, but I thought the fact that he had this duality was very interesting for me to tackle.”
“I was very fortunate going into Predator that a lot of the Dillon character was right there on the page for me to play around with. The writers, these brothers Jim and John (Thomas) did a really fantastic job of fleshing out all of these macho guys and making them much more three dimensional than most writers would have during that era of filmmaking. I was also fortunate because of the production schedule we were on that I had some time before we began shooting to speak with both John and Joel (Silver) about some of my thoughts on the character too, which was great. You don’t always get that and both of them had great ideas that were also very helpful,” added Weathers.
And while the characters for Predator were all fully-realized on the script’s pages, Weathers discussed how it never dawned on him that they were making a sci-fi action movie until the film was in post-production. “Something that I think is kind of funny about Predator is that at the time we were making it, I never realized just how much actual science fiction there was in this story. It just read like a great action movie that had these larger-life-characters who had to survive this monster hunter that’s following their every move. I really only saw it once the movie was finished and that was a lengthy process just because of the level of effects at the time- especially for the Predator creature and all those visual effects they had to put in there afterwards too. But I think the sci-fi influences that you see in the film are largely due to Stan’s work as well as the creative vision that both John and Joel had for the film.”
Weathers went on to chat about his experiences shooting Predator with his lively cast mates and how instrumental casting director Jackie Burch was to putting together the perfect ensemble to bring McTiernan’s sci-fi/action flick to life. “When we were shooting Predator, we were just a bunch of young guys having a good time making a movie in Mexico who were committed to being these macho kind of characters. And we all felt like we were larger than life and I think that’s all right there in the movie too. We just all wanted to be biggest and the baddest and I think that a little healthy competition between us all brought out the best in all of us in regards to our performances and with our physiques too. We were all working out all the time, trying to keep up with each other- it was crazy when I think about it (laughs).”
“Something else that I’ve realized over the years about Predator is all that chemistry came right down to casting and Jackie Burch’s ability to always bring together the right people for every project she works on. She’s the best. And between all those different personalities coming through, these physiques that made us look like action heroes and everyone’s ‘take no prisoners’ attitude, all of it made for perfect chemistry between the entire Predator cast. You don’t get to work on movies like Predator very often in your career and it may take you a while to see it, but it was something very special,” added Weathers.
And while Weathers may have spent most of his time playing against an invisible foe in Predator, Weathers did have the opportunity to check out Winston’s work on the now iconic Predator creature between takes during production. “I did get to see the creature suit that was created from Predator up close, but I never was able to see Kevin (Peter Hall) in action in the suit, which was a shame. I thought Stan’s design was something very different than I had ever seen before and what they were able to do with the face and those mandibles- how they moved around- was something else. I hadn’t ever seen anything like that before and I think that’s a huge reason why the Predator is still a character that people talk about. He’s so damn unforgettable (laughs).”
Check out our exclusive behind-the-scenes gallery of images for Predator below, which was graciously provided to Daily Dead by the Stan Winston School of Character Arts, and be sure to head back here tomorrow for more Stan Winston Week fun when we celebrate The Terminator. In case you missed it, don't forget to check out the earlier installments of our Stan Winston Week celebration:
To learn more about the Stan Winston School of Character Arts, visit:
Predator Behind-the-Scenes Image Gallery:
"Steve Wang details one of the Predator hero suits."
"Early test fitting of Predator head and suit with Kevin Peter Hall- prior to installation of dreadlocks."
"An early concept sketch, by Steve Wang, demonstrating the Predator’s shoulder cannon and its attachment to the armor."
"The final Predator body suit sculpture at Winston’s Northridge studio."
"An early Predator design by Stan Winston."
"Stan also was influenced by the look of rastafarian warriors. He got the idea to put mandibles on the creature after Jim Cameron brought up the idea during a plane flight. "
"Kevin Peter Hall enjoys a breather between takes on the set of Predator."
"Initially, the mask design was a mechanical interpretation of the creature’s face. To avoid giving away the look of the creature too early in the film, SWS later changed the mask design to a simpler, more “tribal” look."
Heather A. Wixson was born and raised in the Chicago suburbs, until she followed her dreams and moved to Los Angeles in 2009. A 14-year veteran in the world of horror entertainment journalism, Wixson fell in love with genre films at a very early age, and has spent more than a decade as a writer and supporter of preserving the history of horror and science fiction cinema. Throughout her career, Wixson has contributed to several notable websites, including Fangoria, Dread Central, Terror Tube, and FEARnet, and she currently serves as the Managing Editor for Daily Dead, which has been her home since 2013. She's also written for both Fangoria Magazine & ReMind Magazine, and her latest book project, Monsters, Makeup & Effects: Volume One will be released on October 20, 2021.
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